— Hold on, Socrates
stopped him, you should filter everything you intend to say through three sieves
before you say it.

— Three
sieves?

— The first is the sieve
of truth. Are you sure that what you’re about to tell me is
true?

— No, I just heard
it.

— So you don’t know
whether it’s true or not. Then let’s move on to the second sieve — the sieve
of good. Are you about to tell me something
good?

— No. The opposite, in
fact.

— So, said Socrates, you
intend to tell me something unpleasant, but you’re not even sure if it’s true or
not. Let’s try the third sieve — the sieve of usefulness. Is it really
necessary for me to hear what you want to tell me?

— No, it’s not
necessary.

— Well then, concluded
Socrates, what you’re about to tell me is not true, good or necessary. So why
bother telling me it at all?**********************************************

Once
upon a time in ancient Greece, one of the acquaintances of the great philosopher
Socrates came up to him and said: “Socrates, do you know what I just heard about
one of your students?”

“Hold on
a moment,” Socrates replied. “Before you tell me, I would like to perform a
simple test. It is called the ‘Three Sieves Test.’ ”

“The
‘Three Sieves Test?’ ”

“Yes.
Before you say a word about my student, take a moment to reflect carefully on
what you wish to say by pouring your words through three special
sieves.”

“The
first sieve is the Sieve of Truth. Are you absolutely sure, without any doubt,
that what you are about to tell me is true?”

“Well,
no, I’m not. Actually I heard it recently and…”

“Alright,” interrupted Socrates. “So you don’t really know whether
it is true or not. Then let us try the second sieve: the Sieve of Goodness. Are
you going to tell me something good about my student?”

“Well…no,” said his acquaintance. “On the
contrary…”

“So you
want to tell me something bad about him,” questioned Socrates, “even though you
are not certain if it is true or not?”

“Err…”

“You may
still pass the test though,” said the Socrates, “because there is a third sieve:
the Sieve of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to
be useful to me?”